***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***
Without providing any evidence, ABC News made headlines on Friday when they claimed they had heard an audio recording of President Trump ordering the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to be fired. Both CBS News and NBC News pounced on the reporting during their evening newscasts despite the fact ABC had not released the audio or commented on its authenticity.
For something that was supposedly a bombshell uncovered by his own network, World News Tonight anchor David Muir sure kept his distance when he kicked off the program with the report. “And we begin tonight with that reported audio that appears to be a conversation between President Trump and Lev Parnas, the man who the President repeatedly said he does not know. Tonight, ABC News has now reviewed the recording, allegedly made during a private dinner in July 2018,” he announced.
ABC’s chief White House correspondent and White House Correspondents Association president, Jon Karl noted in his report that “ABC News has reviewed a recording of what appears to be a conversation between Parnas, the President, and others.” At no point did talk about whether or not they were able to authenticate the audiotape.
But, as if it was evidence of its validity, Karl reported that “A copy of the recording is in the hands of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.”
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